Re: How old are you bobbym?

Oh! Sarah wants to know Bobbym's age? She might read the following:

It is a real number which is rational and positive and is between 0 to 100!

I am sure he is not older than that

'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.''God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it''But our love is like the wind. I can't see it but I can feel it.' -A Walk to remember

Re: How old are you bobbym?

The puzzle consists of two parts, and you'll need to solve Part A before you can solve Part B.

Obtaining the solution is not as easy as it might at first appear!

Bobby won't need to solve the puzzle because he already knows his age (unless he doesn't, and wants to find out), but if he does solve it he won't help you work out his age (because so far he hasn't). And it's no use ringing Joan for help, either, 'cos she's moved on.

Last edited by phrontister (2013-04-19 23:02:54)

"The good news about computers is that they do what you tell them to do. The bad news is that they do what you tell them to do." - Ted Nelson

Re: How old are you bobbym?

Hi Bobby,

1) Does your changes affect the solution?

Are you referring to today's edit to this (your) puzzle, or are you wondering if your puzzle has a different solution from my original YOB puzzle that I posted in the Puzzles and Games forum, and which is the one that you started work on some time back?

If the former, then the answer is no, because the change is only to the 'Solution Check', not to the puzzle itself. I hadn't made my intention clear there and had to clarify it.

If the latter, then the answer is yes. Because of the vaaaast age gap between us I had to change your puzzle so that the solution differed from mine. Of course it just wouldn't do to have the same (unchanged) puzzle for both of us as then one or the other, or both, of the solutions would be untrue.

Since you have provided the excel functions for those operations anyone using them would know the answer to that.

I gave the .doc and .pdf links to make it easy for anyone using Excel to copy the formulas and paste them into their spreadsheet. Those two formats also have the 'live' link to the prime-factorization function.

Btw, where's ZHero? After solving Part A of my puzzle he threatened to try to solve Part B...and hasn't been seen or heard from since. I guess he's still working on it, and that it's taking up all of his time. Sorry, ZHero!

"The good news about computers is that they do what you tell them to do. The bad news is that they do what you tell them to do." - Ted Nelson

Re: How old are you bobbym?

You gave me a pdf of this problem a long while back that is the one I have been using. I just supposed you took your age and would be making it my age.

Kaboobly doo is loosely defined as bull feathers.

The case of the execution of the threat is often not as bad in reality. Say someone was being bothered by a bully. The threat is the beating the bully might give that person. Using that threat the bully can dominate and torment the victim for a long time. The cumulative effect of this torture is often much greater than dealing with some bruises. The bully receives some bruises too and in most cases is bluffing. He would very much prefer his victim to cower to the threat than giving and taking a beating.

In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.

Re: How old are you bobbym?

"I have been using" implies some deliberate, ongoing human activity, not just that of a passing zephyr troubling a still piece of paper.

I just supposed you took your age and would be making it my age.

That would have been the easy way out, but I didn't want to shatter Tigeree's image of a young me by equalling our ages (I assume she thinks you're much older than I am).

Besides, I enjoyed the challenge of doing the number gymnastics to come up with this variation...which wasn't easy to achieve, but nutting it all out was very interesting. My spreadsheet helped quite a bit with testing the various options I gave it.

The idea of doing that only came to me last night after I read a couple of recent posts here showing renewed interest in finding out your age.

The biggest change I made was to the solution check, which I hope will cause a bit of head-scratching.

Bullying has been aired a fair bit on the radio here lately. I don't know much about the subject, but I agree that the effect of threats can be greater than their actual carrying out.

"The good news about computers is that they do what you tell them to do. The bad news is that they do what you tell them to do." - Ted Nelson

Re: How old are you bobbym?

I probably am much older than you. I currently do not believe in life after my age.

I suppose they have some sort of pool where some money will be won. That is the only reason anybody has ever been interested in any part of me. Oh yes, I have an organ donor card so I suppose doctors are interested in how I am doing.

In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.

Re: How old are you bobbym?

Hi Sarah,

We were mainly talking about a very tricky puzzle that I made up that works out Bobby's age, but the way that we were talking may not be easy to follow unless you know a bit about these kinds of puzzles.

It reminds me of the way I talk to my brother. We get so silly at times that sometimes I wonder what other people would think if they heard us! But we understand each other because we've always been that way together.

"The good news about computers is that they do what you tell them to do. The bad news is that they do what you tell them to do." - Ted Nelson

Re: How old are you bobbym?

Hi;

Yes, I hope Sarah understands because I do. Me and my brother speak almost in our own language. Based on movies, books, experiences, television, I doubt anyone else could follow our conversations. We speak not in words but in images, stories, anecdotes. A single word might mean an entire concept.

In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.

Re: How old are you bobbym?

Hi Bobby,

Yes, this familiar way of speaking helps with bonding, I think.

We Aussies tend to do that a bit, particularly amongst fellows. The guys I play golf with are all that way inclined and a lot of rib-poking goes on. While we can be quite self-deprecating at times (which people from some other countries don't understand - they take what we say more literally) we don't let it remain there, and like to keep one another humble: for example, by letting them know what wonderful golfers they're not and what they need to do to improve their game. We laugh together at our own short-comings, while at the same time being there to help each other improve.

Being able to get away with that sort of familiarity somehow draws friends closer together, maybe because of the unspoken understanding of the intent of it all. We're not always silly, of course, and look out for each other in many different ways...which is greatly appreciated.

"The good news about computers is that they do what you tell them to do. The bad news is that they do what you tell them to do." - Ted Nelson